Torpedo and submarine guard.



J. A. STEINMETZ.

TORPEDO AND S'UBMARINE GUARD. APPLlCATlON FILED on. 23. 1915.

1,21 9,879. PatentedMar. 20, 1911.

ooooooooboooooo ooooooqoooooooo'fi oqoooooooooooo I UNITED STATES PATENT ension;

JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, or rHILAnELr-nm, PENNSYLVANIA,-

'ronrnno AND s UisMARINn-eUAnD.

To all whom. it may concern." Be it known thatL-Josern A. STEINMETZ,

a citizen of'the United States, residing at it could not, practically, hesustained' by arms therefrom.

According to the present invention, the protecting sheet is supported by boat, pon toon, or other suitable float devices and is arranged to swing laterally with respect to said devices sothat rolling or rocking produce no harmmotion of the latter may 1s also provided,

ful strains, and the sheet when desired, with a projecting point at the forward end of its lower margin, adapting it for destructive engagement with a submarine boat, this projection sometimes being the end portion of a very heavy bar.

In the accompanying diagrammatic drawings,

Figure 1 is a side view of a relatively small armed boat provided with a swinging keel sheet.

Fig. 2 is a like view different sheet.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a pontoon instead of a boat as a float device and a sheet of net-like construction.

Fig; 4 shows in plan a vessel protected by two sheet-supporting pontoons towed by a small boat.

Fig. 5 shows inrlikemanner two long slightly divergent pontoons towed by the protected vessel itself but not supported thereby.

In Fig. 1, A represents a boat having a' sheet B hinged to its bottom at C to swing laterally about an axis running along its keel line and provided with numerous perforations to facilitate its lateral moven'ient in the water as well as to diminish its weight, and also provided with a beak or showing a slightly pro'ie on D at the forward endof its lower Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. pplication meaoct beres', 19-15. Serial No. 57,514.

sell The float devices may side. The sheet may be of heavysheet metal and may be as shown a rigid'wliole al though it is not necessarily vso, it loe'ing only:

necessary that it should pievent'atorpedo froin passing through it tola 'y e's'sel -tojbg protected by the sheet. fligsheet B" as imperforate and without theft projection D. Fig. 8 ing. sheet as of heavy construction supported by a pontoon E instead of a boat and having at its lower margin a heavy bar F with a forwardly projecting end F".

Usually, avessel, as G, Fig-4, will be protected by two sheets, one on each side, and when'they are supported by pontoons or float devices without propelling power, as indicated at'H, they may be towed by a small boat I through the use of-towlines J. l i hen no such small boat is used and when the float devices are not self-propelling, the latter maybe towed by cables K shows a correspond flexible net or link from the protected vessel itself, the nontoons-in this case preferably being slightly divergent toward the front tend to. remain at a'distance from the vesall be provided with one or more rudders or steering devices, indicated at L, and adapted to be set or controlled in well known ways to regulate the distance of the .fioat from the vessel. v

For illustration, the sheets are shown as supported by a single float device, but'the number is not invariable. i

Since the sheetextends downward in the water-far enough to guardall vital parts and is also lon enough, as a whole, to protect the centre. portion of a ship, it is of such weight that when moving rapidly the impact of the projection D against a submarine would probably disable the latter, whether the projection. be a part of the sheet itself or be the'projecting end of a very long and heavy bar. The devices arethus suited for guarding by attack as well as by their passive protecting function.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with suitable float devices, of an approximately vertical sheet sup ported by said devices, arranged to swing laterally with respect thereto and adapted to explode a contact torpedo approaching the vital parts of a vessel alongside said sheet, and means for advancing the sheet so that thev synchronously with and alongside a vessel toiie'protected.

the combination with suitable float devices,

of a'pendant sheet supported thereby, provided with numerous transverse ope nlngs iiiid arranged to swing laterally 1 with re-,

's pect thereto, and means for advancingthe heavy sheet supported thereby, adapted 'to explode contact torpedoes jmoving trans- Versely toward any vital part of a vessel alongside the sheet and provided at its lower forward margin with a projecting submarine-engaging point.

2. In apparatus of the c lass; described,'

4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with floatdevices, ofa laterally swinging sheet supported thereby and -pro-' vided at its lower side with a heavy approxirated. approximately parallel float devices,

of heavy pendant sheets supported wholly by the "float'devices, respectively, adapted to explode torpedoes moving transversely toward any vital portion of a vessel between said sheets, and arranged to swing laterally with respect to their float supports. 5

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOSEPH STEINMETZ. 

